Hinter der Front ~ Behind the Lines
Die Liebesgabenzigarre
oder der vermeintliche Gasangriff.
In Qualm gehüllt das ganze Haus:
Was kreucht und fleucht nimmt selbst Reisßaus.
Von Ferne stürzen mil Geschrei
Die Kameraden schon herbei.
„Das kann ein Gasangriff nur sein!“
Denkt jeder gleich bei sich, doch nein:
Es steckte sich ein Kriegsmann
'ne Liebesgabenzigarre an.
~
The love gift cigar
or the supposed gas attack.
The whole house is enveloped in smoke:
Everything that crawls and flies is taking flight.
From afar, the comrades are already rushing towards us, screaming.
"It can only be a gas attack!"
Everyone immediately thinks to themselves, but no:
A soldier has lit
A gift cigar from his love.
* * *
Das Brausebad.
Manch' Freude, mancherlei Cenuß
Da draußen man entbehren muß
Und wie zu Haus' ein Brausebad
Man nicht stets zur Verfügung hat.
Was machts, der Deutsche ist kein Tropf,
Zeigt sich auch hier als fin'ger Kopf.
Vergnügt er in der Tonne sitzt,
Indes der Guß von oben spritzt.
~
The shower.
Many joys, many pleasures
One must go without out there
And just as at home, a shower
Isn't always available.
Never mind, the German is no slouch,
Shows himself a nimble head here too.
He sits contentedly in the barrel
While the rain splashes from above.
* * *
Stiefelappell.
Das Unglück - heißt es - schreitet schnell;
Beim Militär nennt man's AppeII;
Und des Soldaten „Schmerzenskind“
Ja meistenteils die Stiefel sind.
Fehlt in der Sohl' ein Nagel blos,
Schon legt der „Spieß“ ganz mächtig los.
Zeigt gar ein Loch sich, noch so klein.
Muss selber man "ins Lochs" hinein.
~
Boot roll call.
Misfortune, they say, moves fast;
In the military, they call it a roll call;
And the soldier's "child of sorrow" is,
In most cases, the boots.
If a single nail is missing from the sole,
The "spittle" starts to strike with force.
If a hole appears, however small,
You have to get "into the hole" yourself.
* * *
Eine Ratte.
Ist aus der Dienst, getan die Pflicht,
Wer dächt da an Erholung nicht?
Und wie's im Frieden man geubt,
Man gern ein Stündchen Kegel schiebt.
Doch „Rattemax“, der hat sogleich
Erdacht sich einen lusten Streich;
Hopps - „eine Ratte“ tönt es kaum,
Schon schwebt sie selbst herab vom Baum.~
A rat.
Once you're off duty, your duty is done,
Who wouldn't think of relaxation?
And, as one does in peacetime,
One likes to play a game of skittles for an hour.
But "Rat Max" immediately
thought up a funny prank;
Oops - "a rat" barely sounds,
and it floats down from the tree itself.
* * *
Im feindlichen Feuer.
Nicht „ungefährlich“ ist ein Gang
In Feindesland die Straß entlang,
Aus schönen Augen blitzt es kühn,
Wie Feuerfunken glüh'n und sprüh'n
Die Blicke all der Mademoisell's,
Heiß, wie Granafen und Schrapnells.
Von solchem schmucken Feind bekriegt
Gäb' jede gerne sich besiegt.~
Under enemy fire.
A walk is not "harmless"
Along the street in enemy territory,
Bold flashes from beautiful eyes,
Are like sparks of fire,
The gazes of all the young ladies glow and sparkle,
Hot, like grenades and shrapnel.
At war with such a handsome enemy,
Each would gladly admit defeat.
* * *
Eine grosse Kleinigkeit.
Nanu, so groß heut das Paket!
Mit Schmunzeln „Schorsch“ ans Öffnen geht.
Die Kameraden stehn und spähn
Die Riesensendung zu besehn.
Und Hüll' auf Hülle lost er flink,
Da endlich - welch ein niedlich Ding!
Nur ein Paar Würstchen . . . alles lacht,
Ach "Schorschel", wer hatt das gedacht!
~
A great little thing.
Wow, the package is so big today!
With a grin, "Schorsch" opens it.
His friends stand and watch
to see the huge shipment.
He nimbly peels off wrapper after more wrapper.
And finally – what a cute thing!
Just a couple of sausages... everyone laughs.
Oh, "Schorschel," who would have thought!
* * *
Eine "bein" -liche Sache.
Verflixt noch mal und gottverdammt, Die Wege alle tief verschlammt.
Bei jedem Schritt, fast bis zum Knie,
Sinkt ein man in der Teufelsbrüh'.
O doppelt „bein“-liches Malheur:
Der Stiefel folgt dem Fuß nicht mehr!
Ein Wagen endlich Rettung bringt,
Und froh man sich aufs Trockne schwingt.
~
A "leg"-like affair.
Confound it and goddammit,
The paths are all deep in mud.
With every step, almost up to the knee,
One sinks into the devil's brew.
Oh, a double "leg"-like mishap:
The boot no longer follows the foot!
A wagon finally brings rescue,
And one is glad to swing oneself onto dry land.
* * *
Anton Magerfleisch
der Goulaschkoch.
Ein gern geseh'ner Mann ist doch
Allüberall der Goulaschkoch;
Und Anton Magerfleisch, der kocht,
Wie`s noch kein zweifer hat vermocht;
So nahrhaft und so würzig-fein,
Daß schon der Duft der Kost allein
Wie Antons Bild gibt jedem kund
Macht dick und fett und kugelrund.
Anton Magerfleisch,
the goulash chef.
A welcome man indeed is
The goulash chef everywhere;
And Anton Magerfleisch, who cooks,
As no one has ever doubted;
So nourishing and so spicy-delicate,
That the aroma of the food alone
As Anton's figure tells everyone
Makes you fat and plump and round.
The preceding translation of German to English
was mainly through the use of Google Translate
with a little paraphrasing of grammar or words
to improve the meaning and intent.
This postcard series of humorous pictures of Imperial German soldiers from the First World War was created by
Arthur Thiele (1860-1936), a prolific German artist from the early 20th century whose colorful comic illustrations I have featured many times on my blog. Last year in my story
Picture Postcards from the Great War I presented another of his postcard series to explain how his lighthearted pictures of German soldiers were intended as propaganda. But unlike propaganda designed to influence the enemy with disinformation these postcards were intended for the civilian folk back home in the Fatherland.
In this series Thiele tries a variation on an idea he used for several series by depicting the Kaiser's soldiers entertaining themselves "Hinter der Front", behind the front lines, in harmless recreation far away from the terror of the war. He shows the soldiers' typical complaints of enduring hardships far away from their homeland but avoids explaining the reality that their billets were in captured villages surrounded by the wreckage of war. Thiele's purpose was to paint a kind of fanciful world of an idyllic army life devoid of any hostilities. His colorful pictures and cheerful poems were designed to reassure mothers and sweethearts that their soldier was okay, safe, and not too bothered by the burdens of military duty.
I believe Thiele's postcards were marketed exclusively to soldiers, so they had to appeal to soldiers first. There is certainly an element of truth in the clever rhymes and silly situations that he devised. As far as I can tell all the writers of these postcards were soldiers, though the message on number six (the sausage package) was in French and not German. That soldier, C. Nicolas, was writing home to his wife in France as he was enroute to Germany, "en Bouchie", likely just after the armistice in November 1918 when French forces moved to occupy German territory. He describes Thiele's comic picture and wishes little Charles many kisses.
It's uncertain when Arthur Thiele produced this particular series, Nr. 167 from Gebrüder Dietrich, Leipzig, but the earliest date on the postcards is 17 January 1917. This was a point in the war when the German military command began to recognize that victory was unlikely with their forces stretched across so many theaters of war around the globe. They also saw an escalating risk that the United States might enter the war too. But just as in all wars, the German command's biggest fear was a rise in internal dissent and disorder. After three years of war and no end in sight, they needed to shore up declining support for German war aims. Theile's postcards were just a small part of that campaign to sway public opinion.
What I find interesting is that Thiele uses both comic art and poetry to create his little scenes. They open a window into how Germans thought of their soldiers and the German people as a whole. His pictures evoke sentiments of kindness, generosity, and goodwill, as well as fun and humor. Of course they were fantasies, fairy tales in the German tradition of the Brothers Grimm, used to hide the evils of war. His postcards may not have fooled many but at least they tried to console and comfort people in a time of great turmoil. That is what art can do better than photographs.
where everyone is enjoying the last Rosé of summer.
